The Miraculous Mellops (TV series)
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Karl Zwicky, Margarita Tassone |
Area served | Australia |
| Parent | Film Australia, Millennium Pictures, Network Ten |
The Miraculous Mellops is an Australian science fiction and comedy television show created by Karl Zwicky and Margarita Tassone. The series was produced through a collaboration between Film Australia, Millennium Pictures, and Network Ten. Aimed primarily at a young audience, its initial season premiered in 1991, followed by a second season in 1992.
Principal cast
- Troy Beckwith portraying Michael Mellop
- Lauren Hewett as Ebony / Minion
- Michela Noonan in the role of Harmony Dump
- David Walters playing Jason Mellop
- Sally Warwick as Samantha Mellop
- Bill Conn as Bill Mellop
- Max Phipps cast as Bernie Dump
- Drew Forsythe appearing as Ralph
- Julie Godfrey as Aunt Jocelyn
- Kim Walsh portraying Jane
- Damon Herriman in the role of Felix
- Frankie J Holden serving as Narrator
Guest appearances
- Abe Forsythe as Small Boy
- Abigail featured as Iron Peg (1 episode)
- Craig Pearce playing Grub (3 episodes)
- Dave Gibson as Grand Baby
- Glenda Linscott appearing as Professor Moorcroft (3 episodes)
- Katy Manning cast as Window Guru (2 episodes)
- Maggie Kirkpatrick portraying Mrs. Kafka (2 episodes)
Synopsis
The narrative centers on siblings Michael, Jason, and Samantha Mellop, who are coping with the loss of their mother a year earlier. Their family enterprise, The Lazy Daisy Nursery, is overseen by their practical father Bill alongside their somewhat forgetful Aunt Josey. The Mellop children frequently encounter extraordinary phenomena that go unnoticed or are dismissed by Bill and Josey.
Adding complexity to their lives is the competing Dump family—Bernie, an operator of a trailer park; his cunning daughter Harmony; and his troublesome nephew Darren—who often seek to capitalize on the Mellops' unusual experiences for their own benefit.
Season 1
The inaugural season revolves around the "Search for the Grand Baby" storyline. A lunar race of children known as Moonlings inhabit the moon. Their leader, called The Grand Baby, is approaching the end of his lifespan. Without an heir to succeed him, a powerful entity imbued with all of the Grand Baby’s psychic and magical abilities is dispatched to Earth to select a new leader. Upon arrival, this entity crashes into the Mellops' crystal punchbowl and fragments into various household objects.
The Mellop siblings soon realize that these objects bestow special abilities: a T-Shirt grants invisibility, a baseball cap provides flight, a vacuum cleaner allows time travel, and toothpaste gives linguistic skills. The Dump family aims to seize these powers for their own commercial schemes under Bernie’s direction. Michael Mellop, who harbors feelings for Harmony, frequently assists the Dumps in acquiring these items.
Observing the disturbance, the Moonlings send two elite agents named Gamma-Jane and Alpha-Ralph to Earth. They assume human identities—Jane and Ralph—and travel in a VW Kombi until they reach the Mellops’ residence. After revealing their mission, Jane and Ralph stay with the family to aid in gathering the scattered powers. Samantha informs Bill that they are friends visiting during school holidays.
Working together, the Mellops and Moonlings strive to reclaim all powers while fending off continuous interference from the Dumps. After assembling all items, efforts to determine who among them should become the new Grand Baby prove unsuccessful until they discover it is actually their dog, Ajax.
Ajax is then transported to the Moon where he is crowned leader. Jane and Ralph remain to instruct Ajax in his royal responsibilities. Meanwhile, the Mellops prepare to resume normal life—though tranquility does not last long.
Season 2
On the Earth-like world known as "Peaceful," enormous beings called Grubs wield rayguns that transform everything into toffee before consuming it, leaving numerous planets in ruin.
Back on Earth, Bill purchases a fax machine to support the Mellops' enterprise and intends to relaunch the nursery with a grand celebration. Samantha, wishing to reconnect with Jane and Ralph, sends an invitation via fax to the contact number she uses for Jane on the Moon. Unbeknownst to her, this fax number belongs to the Grubs, who accept the invitation and plan to attend Earth’s event with the intention of making it their next meal.
Determined to prevent this, Samantha resolves to travel to the Grubs' planet. The Mellops recruit Darren Dump, who uncovers information about space travel through online research and learns about the "WOOP" (Window of Opportunity), a device that enables passage through ordinary windows powered by immense energy sources. Samantha requests a "Cold Fusion Reactor" from Jane on the Moon, but it proves inadequate.
Darren then contacts Ebony, a technologically adept girl residing within a black hole who manifests as a 3D hologram. She informs them that they require a "Compressed Sun" for power, which must be contained within an anti-matter paper bag. To acquire this bag, Bernie Dump is dispatched to an alternate anti-matter universe where he retrieves it but inadvertently brings back alternate versions of Bill, Josey, and Ralph.
The Mellops navigate the confusion caused by these matter and anti-matter duplicates until they successfully return the alternates to their original universe. Although Bernie initially claims possession of the WOOP device, he eventually relinquishes it. Ebony then delivers the Compressed Sun inside the anti-matter bag, supplying adequate energy for interplanetary travel.
Before embarking on their journey, Samantha brings Jane and Ralph back to Earth to assist with nursery reconstruction. Armed with these resources, Samantha and Michael utilize the WOOP to travel to the Grubs' planet. There, Samantha educates them about growth and non-destructive behavior.
The Grubs have been evolutionarily stalled due to a malfunctioning clock within Ebony’s black hole. Darren repairs this clock, which initiates growth among the Grubs. Ebony reveals her identity as an adult Grub. Together, Samantha and Michael persuade them to mature by constructing cocoons.
Upon returning to Earth, they contribute to preparations for the nursery’s gala event. The celebration is highly successful and concludes with an impressive 3D video-fax featuring the now-grown Grubs singing in thanks while appearing above the nursery—a perfect promotional highlight.
Ebony attends the gala alongside other mature Grubs. Darren opts to remain with the Mellops rather than rejoin his own family. Meanwhile, Bernie Dump loses his trailer due to financial troubles but finds comfort watching the Grubs’ performance alongside Harmony.